Walker



Oct. 3, 1961 Filed May 20, 1957 O. M. SUNDBERG WALKER 4 Sheets-Sheet lOLLE M. 5aA/05Eee,

INVENTOR.

fir roe/wa Oct. 3, 1961 o. M. SUNDBERG 3,002,761

WALKER Filed May 20, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 2:

INVEN TOR. 04.45 M. Suuoeseq Ar Toe/MEX Oct. 3, 1961 o. M. SUNDBERG3,002,761

WALKER Filed May 20, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 04.45 M. Sam 055 96,INVENTOR.

Oct. 1961 o. M. SUNDBERG 3, ,761

WALKER Filed May 20, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 01.1. E M- SUNDBERG;

IN V EN TOR.

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3,002,761 7 WALKER Olle M. Sundberg, 2730 Peck Ave., San Pedro, Calif.Filed May 20, 1957, Ser. No. 660,296 6 Claims. (Cl. 28i)43.24-)

The present invention relates to walking devices adapted for use byinfants, children, and invalids or elderly persons. Such devicesgenerally comprise wheeled structures which will serve to support anindividual in the upright position and may be impelled by pushing, orotherwise, in any desired direction while the individual is supported insuch position. In the case of walkers for use by infants or children forlearning to walk, it is usually desirable to provide a basket or othersimilar member adapted to contain toys and the like, which the child maywish to transport in the device.

In applicants copending application, Serial No. 349,368, filed April 17,1953, entitled, Orthopedic Walker, now Patent No. 2,792,874, of whichthis application is a continuation-in-part, he has described suchdevices especially adapted for use by invalids, and designed to permitautomatic and instantaneous application of braking force to stop themovement of the walker in the event the user becomes unbalanced, thusminimizing or eliminating the chance of injury to the user of thedevice. In accordance with the present invention, the advantages of theautomatic braking action are incorporated in devices especially suitedfor use by infants or children, as well as the aged or infirm orinvalids.

It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide awalking device for use by children and adults alike, having automaticbraking means effective when the user becomes unbalanced or when theweight distribution is changed.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a walker of thetype described which is simple in construction, light in weight, and maybe readily transferred from place to place.

Other features of the invention will be apparent and readily understoodfrom the embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings and fromthe description which follows.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a view in perspective illustrating one form of the inventionin a position ready for normal use;

FIG. 2 is a view in side elevation of the form of the inventionillustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view in side elevation of the form of the invention which isillustrated in FIG. 1, but with the brakes in engagement with the floorsurface;

FIG. 4 is a view in side elevation of a modified form of the inventionin the position of normal use;

FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of the device in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational View similar to FIG. 4 but with the brakemeans in engagement with the floor surface;

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of another form of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a bottom plan view of the device in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary side elevation of one corner of the device ofFIG. 7, illustrating the wheel support and brake memb rnited StatesPatent As illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the Walker is formed of aframe member generally designated as 10, preferably of tubular steel oraluminum. The frame is composed of downwardly depending wheel supportinglegs or members 11, 12, 13 and 14, and downwardly depending brakemembers formed by legs 15, 16, 17 and 18. Each brake member has aresilient foot formed of rubber or similar material, as shown at 19, 20,21 and 22. Each wheel supporting member carries a wheel mounted in afree swiveling caster or the like, as shown at 23, 24, 25 and 26. Thefront and rear ends of the walker are provided with crossbar members forsupporting the user. These crossbar members, which, in effect, are partof the frame, may be formed of a plurality of bars 27, 2S and 29 mountedon side members 39 and 31, which are, in turn, affixed to legs 19 and 26by means of screws or bolts. A similar crossbar arrangement is providedfor the opposite end of the walker, as at 32, 33 and 34-. The spacebetween the opposite sets of crossbars is provided with a basket 35,which is attached to the outer leg members by means of clips or thelike. This basket is for the purpose of holding the childs toys when thewalker is in use. The tubular members forming the wheel supporting legsare crossed and pivoted at 36, with a similar pivot at the oppositeside. Near the bottom portion of the wheel supporting members,'springmembers 37 and 38 are provided attached to opposite legs by means ofhooks, as shown. The springs are arranged so that the tension is exertedin a manner which will tend to pull the legs together. Spring tensionadjusting means 39 is provided with a similar means being incorporatedat the opposite side. Although, as shown, the frame portion of thewalker is defined by the upper portions of the brake and wheelsupporting members, a separate frame portion having any desired shape orconstruction may be utilized, with separate wheel support and brakemembers being attached thereto.

The length and angular relationships of the wheel supporting legs andthe brake legs are so coordinated with the springtension that in normalposition the brake feet are spaced from the ground and retained in thatposition by the spring tension upon the wheel supporting legs, which aredrawn together and pivoted so as to keep the brakes from contacting thefloor surface during normal use, as shown particularly in FIG. 2. Thus,when the child or other user is pushing the walker under normalconditions, the wheels will function with the brakes out of contact withthe floor surface. However, as soon as the user starts to fall orbecomes unbalanced and exerts downward pressure on the frame through thecrossbar members, leverage will be exerted upon the corresponding wheelsupporting legs tending to draw them apart and oppose the tension of thespring members. With the' increased lateral spacing thus resultingbetween the wheel members, the brake legs are lowered and engage thefloor surface, thus stopping forward movement of the walker and exertinga stabilizing force to enable the user to hold on to the walker withoutmoving forward or falling. This is illustrated in FIG. 3. When thedownward pull or force is released, the springs will draw the legstogether again and raise the brake members from the floor, so that thewalker may be used again in the normal manner.

In the form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 4, 5

and 6, the walker is formed of tubular steel or aluminum members bent insubstantially U-shaped form, so as to form pairs of front and rear wheelsupporting members 46 4'1 and 42, 43, each having a swiveled wheel asshown at 44, 45, 46 and 47. These members are crossed and pivoted at 23and 49 with the upper portions Sit, 51, 52 and 53 forming a supportingframe to which a basket may be attached in the manner similar to thatshown in FIG. 1, and which will provide means for the user to hold on toduring use. Attached to each wheel supporting leg 42 and 43 aredependent braking leg members, one of which is shown at 5.4, with aresilient brake shoe 55 aflixed to member 42 by means of rivets or thelike 56. A similar member (not shown) is attached to 43. Preferablythese brake members are formed of U- shaped tubular members withtransverse portion 57 serving as a cross brace at the same time. Ofcourse, if desired, the brake members can be attached to the oppositepair of legs or wheel members, or brake members of the same type may beattached to both pairs of legs.

Spring members are provided in order to retain. the opposite pairs ofwheel supporting members with the attached spring members in a normallyupright position. One of such spring members is shown at 58, with apunched tension adjusting means being provided at 59. A similar springmember (not shown) is attached at the opopsite side in a similar manner.The length of the brake legs are so adjusted with respect to the lengthof the wheel supporting legs that when they are in the normally uprightposition under the tension of the spring members, brake shoe 55 isspaced a little from the floor so that the walker is free to move. Thepivotal movement of the crossed legs is restricted by means of platemembers 61 and 66, each of which bears protrusions or stops 61, 62 and63, 64, and corresponding pairs of stops in the opposite position asshown at 65, the other rearwardly positioned elements not being shown.These stops engage the leg members to prevent them from going too far ineither direction when the members are forced apart by downward pullagainst the spring, or drawn together by folding the walker. As shown inFIG. 6, if the child is using the walker when holding on to the crossmember between 52 and 53, and if the child then loses his balancepulling down on said cross member, members 52 and 42 and thecounterparts on the opposite side will pivot about bolt member 48stretching spring member 58 and spreading wheels 44 and 46 apart. At thesame time, brake member 54 will be lowered so that brake shoe 55 willengage the floor. The opposite member will do the same, with the resultthat the walker will be stabilized and anchored against lateralmovement, thus permitting the child to right himself. It will be seenthat this results in a four point distribution of the weight with saidweight being distributed among the two brake members and the two wheelmembers.

It is apparent that when the downward weight or pull is released, thespring members will draw the wheel supporting legs close togethersimultaneously, causing the brake members to be lifted slightly from thefloor and distributing the weight of the walker uniformly upon the fourwheels.

In the modification of the invention shown in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9, a mobileplatform is provided which supports a skeleton frame member forming apen or enclosure adapted to contain toys or other nursery articles. Atthe same time, the frame member provides means for supporting an infantwho is learning to walk by propelling the unit over a surface. Thismodification includes a set of four swiveled wheels 61, etc., each ofwhich is mounted on wheel supporting members or bars 63 through suitablefixtures 62. These wheel supporting members are arranged at 90 degreeangles at the four corners of the platform and are hinged at 64, etc.Springs 65, etc., are positioned between the platform and the wheelsupporting bars adjacent to the corners of the platform and arecompressed between socket members 66, etc., so as to normally urge thewheels 61 into contact with the supporting surface by the downwardlyacting springs, exerting leverage upon the wheel supporting memberswhich are pivoted at 64 as referred to above. The pen or enclosure whichis mounted on the platform is formed of side members 68 and corner posts69 cross connected by slots or rungs 79.

Each wheel supporting member 63 may support a brake shoe 38a borne on adepending leg 71 at a point beneath each post 69 and adjacent to butspaced from each wheel. Since the wheels 61 are located outwardly of thecorners of the platform, it would be difficult, if not quite impossible,for an infant to overturn the unit by propulsive or downwardly appliedforce. Hence, an infant attempting to walk from a starting erect posturewith one of the rails or rungs 70 grasped in his hands could easily andsafely propel the unit forwardly. If, in his progress, the infant shouldtrip or stumble or lurch forward or lose his balance, the pressureapplied to the structure in an attempt to recover the balance would tendto depress one side of the unit and one or more of the wheel supportingmembers or bars 63 would 'yield on its hinges 64, thereby moving brakemember 71 with its attached shoe 38 downwardly into frictional contactwith the supporting surface, thereby preventing lateral movement of theunit until such downward force is relieved.

As is apparent from the foregoing description, several forms of aWalking device are described which are simple yet relatively safe foruse by infants, children and invalids, since automatic braking means areprovided to prevent continued rolling movement of the device if the usertends to lose his balance or falls. Also, if the child or user wishes todraw himself to an upright position using the walker as a support, thedownward force exerted will maintain the brakes in engagement until theuser is again in upright position.

Having thus described my invention, it is obvious that various changesmay be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as setforth in the appended claims.

The inventor claims:

1. A walking device comprising a frame adapted to support a person andincluding a plurality of wheel supporting members pivoted With respectto each other and each having a wheel attached thereto for engagementwith a floor surface, a downwardly depending brake member normallyspaced from said floor surface rigidly attached to at least one of saidwheel supporting members to move therewith and having a portionlaterally spaced therefrom, spring means in engagement with at least onewheel supporting member normally maintaining said brake member in spacedrelationship to said floor surface whereby downward force exertedagainst said frame will be transmitted to one of said wheel supportingmembers counteracting the tension of said spring and thereby causingsaid one of said supporting members to force said brake member intoengagement with said floor surface, said brake member being releasedfrom said engagement upon removal of said force, said frame comprisingtwo U-shaped members having downwardly depending legs each forming saidwheel supporting members, said U-shaped members being joined togetherand pivoted at intermediate points.

2. A walking device according to claim 1 wherein a spring is attached toopposite wheel supporting members between the pivot point and the wheel,said spring having tension therein. tending to draw the opposite wheelmembers together.

3. A walking device according to claim 2 wherein the brake meanscomprises a pair of downwardly depending members each attaohed to one ofthe wheel supporting members formed by one of said U-shaped members.

4.- A Walking device according to claim 3 wherein means are provided tolimit pivotal movement of said U-shaped members to a predetermineddistance in either direction.

5. A walking device including a pair of supporting members, meanspivotally interconnecting said members in crossing relation, rollablemembers on said supporting members adapted to engage a floor surfacealong which the device is movable, a brake carried by one of saidsupporting members and adapted to arrest motion of the device along thefloor surface, and spring means interconnecting said supporting membersto normal-1y retain said brake in an ineffective position.

6. A Walking device including a pair of supporting members, meanspivotally interconnecting said members in crossing relation, rollablemembers on said supporting members adapted to engage a floor surfacealong which the device is movable, a brake carried by one of saidsupportnig members and adapted to engage the floor surface, and springmeans interconnecting said supporting members to normally retain saidbrake elevated above the floor surface.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,967,332 Smith July 24, 1934 2,129,260 Bowser Sept. 6, 1938 2,176,551Solem Oct. 17, 1939 2,314,478 Brewer Mar. 23, 1943 2,613,389 Cramer Oct.14, 1952 2,630,961 Burg Mar. 10, 1953 2,792,874 Sunberg May 21, 19572,847,057 Holcombe Aug. 12, 1958

